


true emotions

by Fireborn



Series: my sanctuary [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddles, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kisses, M/M, anniversary fic, soft boys in love, this verse has become my comfort verse oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireborn/pseuds/Fireborn
Summary: “Hey, Riku?” Sora’s voice sounded less muffled now, and when Riku’s eyes darted over to his face, he saw Sora had turned his head to rest his cheek against his forearm. His eyes were dark and tender as they focused on Riku’s.“Mmm?”“You remember what date it is next week, right?”“September 12,” Riku said immediately. “Our anniversary.”Though there were multiple moments that they could have picked to celebrate as their anniversary, it hadn’t been allthathard to decide it was September 12, the day of their firstrealdate. Even if that date had occurred after more than four months of living together and sleeping in the same bed and basically doingeverythingtogether, from fixing the house to cooking to picking out new furniture piece by piece. Visiting Sora’s parents on Sundays and telling each otherI love youbefore they’d even kissed.(or: Sora and Riku celebrate their one-year anniversary. Knowledge of "nothing is whole", the first fic in the series, isn't needed but possibly recommended for maximum feelings!)
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: my sanctuary [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1474142
Comments: 23
Kudos: 87





	true emotions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kookieruuu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kookieruuu/gifts).



> This is for everyone who liked what I lovingly call 'housefixing fic' ("nothing is whole", and in particular for kookieruuu, the winner of my fic giveaway, who requested fluff and let me write these soft boys as their fic!! <333

“Rikuuuuuuuuu,” Sora whined with his forehead pressed into his folded arms. “It’s so _hot_.”

They were sprawled on their stomachs underneath the coconut trees between their backyard and the beach, both on a beach towel; Sora’s red with a yellow paopu fruit, Riku’s yellow with coconuts all over it. The towels had been a housewarming gift from Kairi when she had first visited; she picked them up from one of the tourist shops between visiting her parents and rowing over to Sora and Riku’s island.

Though it was the first week of September, summer hadn’t let up even a little bit on the Destiny Islands, with temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius this week. Despite the mildly refreshing ocean breeze and their current spot in the shade, the heat was almost unbearable.

They should have been used to it, having lived on this world for most of their lives, yet somehow, the extreme summer heat never got comfortable. Even in the afternoon shade, Riku was a mess of sweat and lethargy. When he licked his lips, all he tasted was salt.

“Why is it so hoooot, Rikuuuuu,” Sora continued in a slow drawl, ending with a low, continuous moan as if Riku was personally responsible for his current predicament. 

Riku couldn’t hold back his laugh and dropped the book he’d been reading to roll onto his side, propping his head upon his elbow. In this kind of heat, every move took a great deal of effort. He was glad that all work on the Destiny Islands cable cars, his part-time job, had been temporarily suspended because of the heat—construction work wasn’t fun in these temperatures.

“I wish we had ice cream…” Sora mumbled.

Ice cream was one of the only things they couldn’t really get out here in the summer; it would melt long before they finished the 20-minute boat ride. Sora had tried casting Blizzard spells on a tub of chocolate ice cream they’d gotten from the store on the main island once, but that had ended up freezing all the flavour out of it, too, turning the contents of the tub into a large, brown ice cube. Cold for sure, but flavourless.

Riku suppressed a little snort at the memory but couldn’t stop his lips from curling into a little smile. 

Sora whined again. “It’s even too hot to get up to get into the water.”

Despite the apathy that had settled over him, Riku let gaze trace the curve of Sora’s sweat-soaked back, and before he was consciously aware of what he was doing, he’d reached out. He started the touch at the top of Sora’s spine amidst the little curls of sun-bleached hair, stroking his way down across the smooth and slick muscles of his shoulders and back. 

Sora shivered full-body, but he also hummed happily, which Riku took as a sign to continue. He slowly eased his hand up and down, revelling in the way Sora went even more boneless beneath his touch. There were a few tense muscles in between Sora’s shoulder blades, and Riku pressed his thumb into the knots, the sweat making the slide of his fingers easy and perfect. Sora froze for a second before relaxing again.

“Better?” Riku asked, and Sora let out a few more happy sounds in reply.

The dream eater link was a warm, glowing invisible connection between them, and Riku subconsciously let his mind slide down it, happy to realise Sora was sending him feelings of affection and contentment in return. They didn’t always let their walls down like this to feel each other’s emotions—it happened accidentally more often than not—but when they did, Riku’s entire being thrummed with an energy he couldn’t even begin to explain.

They were silent for long moments as Riku continued to gently massage Sora’s back and shoulders, listening to the seagulls and the calming sounds of the waves. The link was a comfortable, weightless thread between their hearts, humming a soundless melody.

In moments like these, Riku could still barely believe he got to have this. It felt like a dream sometimes, even after well over a year—their own house on an island all for _them_. For so long, he’d barely allowed himself the fantasy of just being by Sora’s side, but now they had a house, a _life_ together. He had a part-time job doing construction work, and Sora volunteered at the Destiny Islands animal shelter. It was all… terribly domestic, and Riku _loved_ it. 

He got to touch Sora and let Sora touch him in return. They shared their thoughts and feelings, and though he’d always known Sora pretty well, over the past 16 months, he had gotten to learn _every_ little detail about Sora. Things no one else knew, like how soft his eyes looked in the morning after just waking up, or that he made homemade peach ice tea with way too much sugar, or that he preferred to read lying on his stomach with his feet kicking idly into the air.

Their relative work schedules also allowed for plenty of off-world visits. 

It had taken them eight months, but eventually, last December, they had taken the gummi ship for their first trip after moving here. They had chosen peaceful worlds without Heartless in the beginning, just travelling together without keyblades for a bit. They’d started with visits to Disney Castle and the Land of Departure, and as they grew more confident that nothing _bad_ was going to happen, they started enjoying more and longer trips together. The worlds had been at peace since Xehanort was defeated, and even when Heartless popped up, they were easily taken care of—even though Riku knew both he and Sora weren’t in their best fighting shapes anymore. That was okay, though. Other things had been more important. They’d relearn. 

“Hey, Riku?” Sora’s voice sounded less muffled now, and when Riku’s eyes darted over to his face, he saw Sora had turned his head to rest his cheek against his forearm. His eyes were dark and tender as they focused on Riku’s.

“Mmm?”

“You remember what date it is next week, right?”

“September 12,” Riku said immediately. “Our anniversary.”

Though there were multiple moments that they could have picked to celebrate as their anniversary, it hadn’t been all _that_ hard to decide it was September 12, the day of their first _real_ date. Even if that date had occurred after more than four months of living together and sleeping in the same bed and basically doing _everything_ together, from fixing the house to cooking to picking out new furniture piece by piece. Visiting Sora’s parents on Sundays and telling each other _I love you_ before they’d even kissed. 

Well, they never really did anything by the book, Riku supposed.

“You asked me what I wanted to do for our anniversary next week, right?” Sora continued.

“Yeah,” Riku said. He had asked Sora last week because neither of them really liked surprises. It was more fun to plan things together, Riku thought.

“I thought of something, but… You’re gonna think it’s stupid.”

Riku chuckled, because that statement was definitely untrue. “I would never.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Sora sighed and rolled onto Riku’s towel, pressing their bodies close together in a sticky embrace. The slide of their sweat-slicked skin, burning hot, was a little uncomfortable, but Riku didn’t mind. Not when it was Sora. He loved it when Sora got a little clingy like this. Sora sighed against Riku’s collarbone and nuzzled his nose into Riku’s neck. When he started talking again, Riku had to strain to hear him.

“I was thinking we could just… Go swimming together. Build a sandcastle. And you could make me that ice coffee you’re so good at making, and I’ll cook you dinner?”

For a long moment, Riku’s throat closed up. Of course, whatever Sora would want to do for their anniversary would be what Riku wanted to do, but _this_ was such an innocent, sweet request that Riku didn’t know what to do with himself. It shouldn’t have been surprising, Riku _knew_ now that Sora liked spending time with him, but it made something inside his chest swirl and squeeze anyway to hear that Sora wanted to spend an entire day together, just the two of them. He clutched Sora even closer to him, feeling Sora’s little gasp in response at being held so tightly. 

“That sounds perfect, Sora.” Riku wasn’t surprised to hear the tears in his voice. He knew Sora would recognise them for what they were, but he kept his eyes open anyway when Sora pulled back to study his face. 

When Riku gave him a shaky smile, Sora beamed. 

“Okay! It’s a date!”

  
  
  


The morning of September 12, Sora woke up first. That wasn’t very unexpected, since Sora had always been the kid that woke up before dawn on birthdays and Christmas, too excited for presents and fun times to be able to sleep in as usual. 

Still, Riku was normally up first, so it was a nice change to wake to Sora’s hands cradling his head and Sora’s fluttery heartbeat underneath his ear. Sora’s fingers were soothing over the tangled mess of Riku’s hair, a rhythmic sensation that almost lulled Riku back to sleep in their little bubble of sticky heat, underneath a single sheet—both of them preferred the feeling of sleeping covered by something; it made them feel safe.

Yet instead of drifting off again, Riku wanted to enjoy this moment, this day, their _one-year anniversary_. He yawned into Sora’s shirt, and Sora made a joyful sound above him, realising Riku was awake. 

“Good morning!” Judging by the tone of his voice, bright and alert, Sora had probably been awake for a while. “Happy anniversary, Riku! What do you want for breakfast?” 

Riku blinked the haze of sleep out of his eyes, trying to think through the feeling of just waking up and being forced to answer such complicated questions.

“Nhhggg,” Riku groaned, tilting his head up and trying to focus on Sora’s face. Sora was watching him fondly, his sky-blue eyes alight with tenderness as he looked back. Riku finally gathered his words. “A kiss?”

Sora’s face lit up, and when he leaned down to press his lips to Riku’s, it was just a happy, open-mouthed kiss, sloppy and without any finesse. It did the job though, because Riku was more awake now, a pleasant buzz underneath his skin and his hands making their way to cup Sora’s smiling cheeks. What they lacked in finesse early-morning, Sora made up in enthusiasm, and Riku was happy to let himself melt into the mattress as Sora kissed him, wetly but gently and full of affection. Riku’s limbs were barely awake as was, yet now the kiss left them even weaker and a little shaky as Sora wiggled in between them.

These days, Sora kissed as he did everything in life once more: unabashedly enthusiastic, with his entire heart and soul.

“This was just an appetizer, though,” Sora said when he pulled back for breath. “We’re going swimming today! You need a good breakfast.”

Riku leaned up to kiss Sora’s mouth again, and then his warm cheek, lips brushing over the soft skin until they were buried in the little hairs at Sora’s temple.

“Mmm, okay. Can you make me bacon and eggs? With toast?”

“Yes!” Sora replied, letting Riku kiss him some more before untangling their limbs and gracefully rolling out of bed. “I’m on it!”

Sora threw on a grey tank top and his navy swim shorts before all but skipping towards the bedroom door.

“Hey, Sora?” Riku called before he was gone. Sora turned around in the doorway. “Happy anniversary.”

Sora beamed for long moments, and Riku could hear Sora’s happiness even after he turned back around by the way he bounded down the stairs.

After Riku’s morning shower, he came into the kitchen to a full breakfast; eggs and bacon for Riku, a stash of chocolate chip pancakes for Sora. Coffee mugs for both of them.

While he chewed, Riku looked around the open kitchen and the living room, eyes roaming over all the items they had collected over the past 16 months; there were trinkets and pieces of furniture from all the worlds they’d been to. Nothing matched, but that’s what Riku loved most about their place. It was _theirs_.

There were shelves with wood carvings from Corona and seashells from Atlantica. The living room floor was covered in a large Persian rug from Agrabah, and Riku had taken two whole days to fit the stained glass window they had purchased in Cité des Cloches in the window frame above the backdoor. Cité des Cloches had been Riku’s favourite world they’d visited together so far. All the worlds Sora showed him had been amazing, but seeing Cité des Cloches as a waking world once more, with Esmeralda, Captain Phoebus and Quasimodo living their new, happy lives, had made Riku’s chest swell with happiness. And when Esmeralda had taken one look at his and Sora’s joined hands and given Riku this knowing, bright smile, Riku hadn’t even minded the way his cheeks had flushed hot.

“Oh!” Sora exclaimed suddenly with his mouth full of pancake and coffee. “I got you a present!”

He skipped off towards the shed in the garden and raced back just as quickly with a long, rectangular package in his arms, wrapped in golden paper with a silver bow on top. 

“You didn’t see me put it in there last week, did you?” Sora asked, his eyes bright and wide and just a little bit apprehensive. “I made sure you were upstairs before I entered the house!”

Riku shook his head as Sora placed the present on the table next to his now empty plate. 

“Happy anniversary, Riku.”

“Happy anniversary, Sora. I got you something, too.”

Sora’s face, impossibly, lit up even more. “Yeah?”

“It’s in the kitchen cupboard on the bottom left.”

“You hid it in the _kitchen_?”

“It’s the cupboard with the blender and my protein bars. I know you never look there.”

Sora laughed out loud as he opened the cupboard Riku mentioned and retrieved a large box, packaged in shining blue wrapping paper. “It’s so big!”

Riku had agonised for weeks over what to buy Sora. Even though they didn’t necessarily have to mind their finances, earning a little money fighting Heartless on top of some leftover savings and with Riku’s part-time job, and Mickey—and Riku _suspected_ Master Yen Sid as well—sending them money every month as well, they rarely bought things they didn’t truly _need_. Riku had saved up for years to be able to buy a house if he should ever need it, and Sora had been running around saving the worlds for so long; they both didn’t really have a habit of spending money on things that were just _nice_.

But Sora’s remark last week about how he was craving ice cream had finally sparked the idea for a present, and he’d managed to find the perfect gift at the newly opened cooking store in town.

“Open it!” Sora said, bringing Riku out of his reveries.

Riku started to carefully unwrap his present while Sora watched with his chin propped up on his hands, smiling eagerly. Riku could tell he was trying really hard not to spoil what was in it; it was impressive Sora had managed to keep it a secret for over a week, actually.

When the paper fell away, Riku could see the box inside of it: Sora’s gift for him was a string of twenty outdoor festoon fairy lights.

“They’re waterproof and solar-powered!” Sora said as soon as Riku had removed the wrapping paper. “The woman at the store said the bulbs give a really nice, warm glow, and we could hang them above the dining table for when we eat outside!” He seemed to remember that it was _Riku’s_ gift right then, and he backtracked a little. “I mean, if you want that, too…”

Riku looked up, unable to keep the fondness off his face, a look that he knew he only ever directed towards Sora. He leaned over the kitchen table, watching as Sora’s mouth fell open in a silent o, and Sora crossed the gap so they met in the middle for a kiss.

“I love it, Sora…”

“You do?” Sora let out a giddy laugh again. “I was hoping you would! I mean, I love them, too, I think they’d look great in the backyard, but of course they’re for _you_ , so it’s important you like them as well.”

“I love them. I’ll put them up later today, okay?”

Sora nodded eagerly before dropping his gaze to his own present. “Can I open mine now?”

“Of course.” Riku smiled. “It’s yours.”

Sora was a lot less careful with the wrapping paper than Riku, tearing it open with both hands and zero patience. When the paper fell away, the best part was Sora’s entire face lighting up when he realised what Riku had given him.

“Ohhhhh,” Sora exclaimed, delight visible in the crinkling of his eyes and nose. “You got me an ice cream machine!”

“Yeah,” Riku said, suddenly a little shy. “You said you wished we had ice cream the other day when it was so hot, and I thought… I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before, but I thought now you can make it, and… Do you like it?”

“Yes!” Sora got up from his chair and darted around the table, throwing his arms around Riku in a tight hug. “I can’t wait to try it out. Thank you, Riku!”

Riku turned his chair so Sora had space to slide into his lap, both of them enjoying the quiet intimacy of just holding each other for a long moment. Sora’s hair was unbrushed, sticking every which way, but the tickling sensation of it across Riku’s neck was so familiar and so _Sora_ that Riku relaxed immediately into it.

“This is already the best day ever,” Sora mumbled happily, his hands tangling into Riku’s hair. They were _made_ to fit together like this, Sora’s smaller frame fitting easily in Riku’s arms, Sora’s thighs and arms around him snugly, tightly, like a little octopus. “And it’s gonna get even better when we go to the beach!”

“Gonna have to let go of me to get to the beach, though,” Riku said, but his voice came out a little reluctant, too.

With a sound as if it physically pained him, Sora slid off Riku’s lap and started packing a bag with their beach towels, bottles of iced tea with freezer cores, and snacks—which today was a bag of crisps and two bananas. 

Beach days were some of Riku’s favourite days. It reminded him of the first time he and Sora had spent an entire day on what was essentially their private beach here, of finally being able to _relax_ and just be… two teenage boys again. It was still like that every time they swam in the ocean, racing each other or just splashing around. Sometimes they’d build a sandcastle, and sometimes they’d just lie on their backs, looking at the clouds that drifted over their heads and talking about whatever.

They only had to walk through their backyard to get to the beach. As kids, they’d had the entire beach of the play island for themselves, and now they had an even bigger beach to themselves. The first time Kairi had seen it, she’d whistled lowly and teased that someday, they’d have to give the biggest beach party for all of their friends. They hadn’t done it yet, but Riku knew Sora kind of liked that idea.

They laid down their towels, covered themselves and each other in sunscreen, and put up the colourful beach umbrella so they could leave the drinks and snacks in the shade as they went into the water. Luckily, today wasn’t as hot as last week anymore; temperatures having dropped to a more bearable 28 degrees Celsius.

“Race ya, Riku!” Sora said as soon as the umbrella was put firmly into the sand, turning his back on Riku before Riku had even taken off his shirt.

Some things never changed.

Riku quickly pulled his shirt over his head, but Sora had too much of a head start, and he was in the water long seconds before Riku.

“Ha!” Sora said, splashing water everywhere as he windmilled his arms. “I win!”

Riku narrowed his eyes. “You thought that was a fair race, did you?”

Sora smiled innocently. “All’s fair in love, Riku. Didn’t you know?”

In response, Riku lunged at Sora, wrapping his arms around him as they went down underneath the water amidst splutters and laughter. They wrestled for moments underwater first, then above the surface in the shallows, rolling each other over and trying to pin the other down into the sticky sand. All slick, wet skin and no leverage, but neither of them really _trying_ to win, either. There was something soft and peaceful between them these days, and even though they could tease and banter again as before, they were more careful with each other when they sparred or play fought. Not that Riku didn’t fight to win anymore, just that… winning wasn’t the most important thing. Seeing Sora smile was. 

Eventually, Sora got the upper hand and pinned Riku down into the shallow ocean water. He was grinning down at Riku, his eyes alight and sparkling, and Riku’s stomach fluttered, suddenly out of breath from more than just their playing around.

It was definitely sights like these that had made Riku decide that even losing their mini-competitions and tussles wasn’t bad at all. He loved the way Sora would raise an eyebrow, tuck his chin, and give Riku the most enigmatic smile.

“I win again!” Sora said, predictably.

“Hmmmm, fine,” Riku said, reaching up to tuck Sora’s wet bangs behind his ears. “What do you want for your prize?”

Sora was so beautiful like this, radiating a little well-deserved smugness, shimmering in the golden sunlight. “A kiss.”

“Of course,” Riku barely had time to say, before Sora swept down to kiss him, salt water and warm, wet lips and open mouths and tongues. 

This kiss wasn’t sweet like this morning, but fueled by adrenaline, deep and _hot_. The waves lapped around their bodies, lukewarm and gentle, and Riku’s arms came up to Sora’s waist, hands moving up and down as Sora shifted, presumably for better leverage, because he pressed down harder, sending a thrill down Riku’s spine. 

The sensation of being kissed with the ocean around him was so incredible that Riku’s mind went completely blank, his fingers and toes tingling. Sora kept kissing him, deeply—a little possessively, Riku’s mind helpfully supplied—hands coming up to tangle in Riku’s hair. They kissed until their mouths were red and swollen and there was wet sand _everywhere_ , and only then did Sora pull back with a large smirk that he wasn’t trying to hide even a little.

“And now, we swim.”

Riku laughed and let himself be pulled to a standing position, and they swam out into the ocean—not a race this time, more splashing and lazily floating than actually swimming. When Sora complained about being thirsty, they let the waves carry them back to the shore, their beach towels, and their drinks. 

Even though spending days or afternoons on the beach was not rare for them by any means, Riku didn’t think he’d ever get used to admiring Sora like this. His tanned, smooth skin, shining with sunscreen and ocean water, the way the flush on his cheeks would make his freckles even more pronounced, how incredibly _blue_ his eyes would sparkle in the sunlight. 

How _happy_ he was, almost all the time now.

Of course, some days either or both of them got sad, still, but they’d learned not to push those feelings down anymore. Sora especially had gotten so _good_ at expressing his sad thoughts, and Riku couldn’t be more proud of him for that, even though it was hard to see Sora being sad. Riku remembered with pain in his heart the time when Sora came home from the shelter after one of the older dogs had died, and he’d cried all evening. Whenever Riku had calmed him down with soothing whispers and touches, he’d start crying again not ten minutes later.

But Riku knew he couldn’t protect Sora from all the sad things in life, no matter how much he might want to. And it was good that Sora no longer pretended everything was fine, putting a smile on his face and ignoring his distressing feelings.

Right now though, Sora was definitely happy. 

He’d brought his camera and documented everything about their day: the chittering seabirds that got too close in search of a snack when Riku opened the bag of salty crisps; the sandcastle they spent over two hours making, modelled after Disney Castle; the tall glasses of iced coffee with whipped cream that Riku made and that they drank with straws while they admired their sandcastle. And then, finally, Sora took a picture of Riku sprawled out underneath the beach umbrella when the sun sank lower towards the horizon, covering the sea and the beach in bright, warm shades of orange and yellow.

That appeared to be the final picture of the day, as Sora carefully popped the lens cap back in place and returned the camera to his camera bag. Then he snuggled close, folding himself against Riku’s side. The place where their skin touched was rough with grains of sand and sticky with sunscreen and salt. When Sora leaned over and kissed him, he tasted like cool iced tea and banana. Riku hummed languidly against his lips, too tired for more.

“I love you so much,” Sora whispered when he rested his head over Riku’s heart, one hand sprawled next to his cheek, flat against Riku’s skin. “Do you ever feel like this? Like you have… so much love in your chest that it kind of hurts, but it’s _nice_ , you want even _more_ of it, wouldn’t trade it away for the world…”

“Every day,” Riku replied quietly.

“Riku…”

“It’s true,” Riku continued, his voice shaking and a little high-pitched. Emotions sang around in his chest, and he could feel his heart thrumming a frantic rhythm, overflowing down the dream eater link with everything he was feeling. “Sora, I love you so much I don’t know how to put it into words. Sometimes I think I love you so much I’ll burst with it, but then the next day I’ll wake up and I’ll love you even _more_.”

Riku heard Sora’s gasp into his chest and then felt him start to tremble a little, wet lashes brushing against Riku’s skin. He brought one hand up to stroke Sora’s hair, the other wrapped firmly around Sora’s waist. At least these weren’t sad tears. Riku could handle these kinds of tears, even as he felt himself tearing up as well in response to Sora.

“I’ve loved you forever,” Riku continued, tight and a little too high still. “And I’ll love you forever. There’s not a single doubt in my mind about that. Every day I feel so… so blessed that you feel the same.”

When Sora pulled away, sitting up and tugging Riku with him, there were tear streaks on his cheeks and his eyes were a little red. His smile was wobbly and watery, and Riku raised his hands to swipe fruitlessly over Sora’s cheeks. Fresh tears replaced the ones he brushed away.

Instead, Riku brought their foreheads together as Sora shifted to make himself more comfortable on Riku’s lap.

“I’m just so happy,” Sora whispered, voice breaking on the words.

“I know,” Riku assured him. “Me too.”

With every breath they shared like this, Sora calmed down a little, until eventually he was just smiling, his tears having run dry.

“You wanna watch the sunset?” Riku asked him, drawing away a little.

Sora nodded, then turned around in Riku’s arms, settling down with his back to Riku’s chest. The sun had already sunk down low enough that it almost touched the horizon, and they watched in silence as it dropped down further and further into the ocean, until the final rays painted everything a vibrant shade of amber.

Then, they packed up their things, tired and happy and satisfied, and made their way back to the house.

“I know I promised you dinner…” Sora started, then broke off with a yawn. “But…”

Riku chuckled in response, curling his arm around Sora’s shoulder in a half-hug. Sora leaned into him easily with a sound between a sigh and a yawn.

“That’s okay,” Riku said. “I promise I’ll love you even if you don’t cook me fancy five course dinners.”

Sora stuck out his tongue. “Okay, you shower while I make us some mac and cheese, and then you can hang up the fairy lights while I shower?”

“Yeah, okay,” Riku replied, leaning down for a quick kiss, ocean-salty and tender, before he trudged up the stairs towards the bathroom.

When he came back down, freshly showered and in clean clothes, Sora skipped over for a hug. Riku didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d get salt and sand all over Riku again, instead wrapping his arms around Sora’s waist to return the embrace.

“Did you know people need eight hugs a day to be happy?” Sora mumbled into Riku’s clean t-shirt.

“I didn’t,” Riku replied, rubbing one hand up Sora’s tank top.

“I read that in a book. We had one hug in bed this morning, then one over the gifts, two in the ocean and one during the sunset. So this is only number six. I’ll have to make sure to hug you at least two more times before we go to bed. For happiness.”

“For happiness,” Riku repeated, his fingers trailing over the bare skin at the back of Sora’s neck, grains of sand getting underneath his fingernails. Then, he teased, “For the next hug, I’ll expect you to be sand-free again, though.”

“Oops,” Sora said, slowly drawing away, though he didn’t look sorry in the least. “Okay!”

While Sora showered, Riku hung up the fairy lights in the garden, a string from the rain gutter, across the outdoor wooden dining table and chairs to the paopu tree in their garden and back. The string was just long enough, and he tied the end up to the gutter again. 

When he climbed off the step ladder and hit the remote control to turn on the lights and admire his work, he gasped in surprise. The bulbs were bright enough to light up the entire backyard; the daisies and pansies, the little patch of herbs and vegetables on the left side, the rainbow hammock in between the coconut trees on the ride side.

While Riku was admiring the view, he heard the kitchen door open and close behind him, and Sora popped up by his shoulder.

“Oh, wow,” Sora whispered. “It looks… amazing…”

“It does…” Riku turned to Sora to take in his wide-eyed look of wonder, reaching out to run the back of his hand down Sora’s cheek.

Sora’s gaze shifted to him, and he beamed. “I’ll get dinner! We can eat underneath the fairy lights!”

With the sun down, the air was beginning to cool down a little, so sitting outside with the light breeze and the calming sounds of the wind and the ocean was a good way to wind down from their day. The creamy mac and cheese was filling; Riku hadn’t realised how hungry he’d been until he was shovelling the pasta in his mouth, all too aware of Sora’s smile on him.

“Good?”

“Hmmm,” Riku agreed.

After dinner, they curled up in their hammock, not yet ready for bed and just wanting to be close for a bit. The fairy lights gave everything a magical glow as the hammock swayed gently back and forth in the breeze, and Riku let himself completely relax with Sora a warm, solid weight over his chest. 

“Is this hug number seven?” Riku asked, thumb stroking lazy circles between Sora’s shoulder blades.

Sora hummed happily. “Maybe if it’s a long hug like this, it can count as two?”

“Maybe.”

“It doesn’t matter though,” Sora said, his voice sounding as lazy and sated as Riku felt. “Because we always fall asleep in each other’s arms anyway, so that’ll be hug number eight.”

Riku bent his neck to press a kiss in Sora—now sand-free, coconut-scented—hair. 

“Today was my favourite anniversary ever,” Sora sighed peacefully.

Riku choked on a laugh, surprising himself with the force of it, his chest heaving and catching against Sora’s. Sora laughed too in response, bright as bells, as he wrapped his arms tighter around Riku’s neck.

“Mine, too,” Riku said when his laughter subsided and left nothing but fondness and warmth in its wake.

“Let’s celebrate many more, okay?” Sora muttered, nuzzling his face into Riku’s shirt a little.

“Okay,” Riku replied. “Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please come talk to me about Sora and Riku on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fortheloveinyou) :D


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